Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge)
| Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Mixtape by | ||||
| Released | July 2, 2007 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 15:40 | |||
| Label | Self-published | |||
| Producer | Jon Brion | |||
| Jay Electronica chronology | ||||
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Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) is the debut mixtape by American rapper Jay Electronica, self-published onto MySpace on July 2, 2007. The mixtape plays as one 15-minute track, sampling five different tracks of American producer Jon Brion's 2004 film score, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The mixtape features spoken word appearances from Erykah Badu and Just Blaze. The mixtape is notable for its lack of drums and has received critical acclaim for its experimentation.
Background and release[edit]
Jay Electronica has said that he was motivated to create the mixtape due to the influence of films on him and his art.[1] After watching the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Jay Electronica felt inspired by its story and its score, composed by Jon Brion.[2] He singled out a scene in which Jim Carrey's character Joel is excited for the first time in the film when meeting Kate Winslet's character Clementine, noting the contrapuntal nature of the low-key score when played underneath what appears to be a highly pivotal scene. Jay Electronica has stated he "just wanted to do something that felt like that".[1] That night, he looped Brion's music and recorded a 32-bar verse on GarageBand with his built-in laptop microphone; he uploaded the demo onto his Myspace as "Eternal Sunshine".[2]
After the "Eternal Sunshine" demo received positive reception, Jay Electronica went to Detroit to record the rest of the mixtape over Brion's score.[2] The mixtape's opening is a spoken word piece performed by frequent collaborator Just Blaze and Jay Electronica's then-partner Erykah Badu, who give high praise to the artist's musical skill and personal nature.[3] The mixtape was later released by Jay Electronica onto his MySpace on July 2, 2007, when he was still a relatively unknown rapper. The album had no formal promotion, but garnered over 50,000 downloads within the first 30 days of its posting.[2] Thus, the mixtape has been described as Jay Electronica's breakout project.[4]
Composition and lyrics[edit]
Zachary Schwartz of DJBooth described Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) as "mystical rap", departing from the two dominant sub-genres of conscious hip hop and gangsta rap.[5] Built on samples from Brion's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind film score, the mixtape contains no drums.[6] The mixtape covers many religious themes, including Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, and Mesoamerican religion.[3] Jay Electronica also raps about the topics of "voodoo, atoms, UFOs, meditation, and psychedelics".[5] In a 2007 interview, Jay Electronica stated the movements were listed in order of creation and mood change, as he rapped about what he "was dealing with mentally at the time".[7] Jay Electronica stated that he "decided to have it as one piece so that whoever heard it could experience it the way it was intended".[7]
Critical reception[edit]
In 2010, Matt Diehl of Interview described Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) as "a 15-minute musique concrete surreal symphony".[8] In 2013, Ryan Bassil of Vice noted the mixtape's lack of drums and called it "a timeless classic".[6] In 2017, Adam Isaac Itkoff of Okayplayer revisited the mixtape for its ten-year anniversary and described it as "one of the most fearlessly experimental rap releases to ever dawn upon the digital age".[9] In 2019, Gal Hazor of DJBooth included Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) as one of the 10 Best Rap Songs 10 Minutes or Longer.[3]
Sequels[edit]
Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) was meant to be the first part of a trilogy, with the next planned installment being entitled Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn).[6] Meanwhile, rumors suggested that the final release in the trilogy would be titled Act III: The Last Will & Testament of Timothy Elpadaro Thedford (The Prestige).[6] The titles are inspired by the 2006 film The Prestige;[6] an audio sample from the film is used in Act I.[3] In September 2007, Jay Electronica indicated that he planned to create Act II and Act III.[7] Jay Electronica announced that Act II was completed in 2011 and shared a track list in 2012.[6] The track list included guest appearances from Jay-Z, Kanye West, Charlotte Gainsbourg, The-Dream, and Sean Combs, among others.[10] The album was never released.[6] In February 2020, Jay Electronica announced that he completed his debut album over the past 40 days, titled A Written Testimony. The album is set to be released on March 18, 2020.[11]
Ryan Bassil of Vice covered a popular online theory that states that the trilogy's planned release was inspired by Michael Caine's character John Cutter from The Prestige and his explanation on how a magic trick must be performed in three parts: The Pledge, The Turn, and The Prestige.[6] Cutter explains The Pledge is when a magician shows something that seems ordinary but probably isn't. It's followed by The Turn, where a magician "takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary". Caine continues, stating "You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call 'The Prestige'." Bassil connects this explanation with the seemingly ordinary release of Act I and the disappearance of any follow-up.[6]
Movements[edit]
The mixtape plays as one singular track, but has five separate movements:[2]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Foreword" (by Erykah Badu and Just Blaze) | |
| 2. | "Eternal Sunshine" | |
| 3. | "...Because He Broke The Rules" | |
| 4. | "Voodoo Man" | |
| 5. | "FYI" | |
| Total length: | 15:40 | |
The mixtape includes audio samples from multiple films, including the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, 2004 Kurdish film Turtles Can Fly, 2006 film The Prestige and Leo the Lion.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Jay Electronica: A Spotless Mind". URB. January 21, 2008. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Sweeney Kovar (October 10, 2013). "REVISITING… JAY ELECTRONICA'S 'ACT I: THE PLEDGE'". The Boombox. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Gal Hazor (July 10, 2019). "10 Best Rap Songs 10 Minutes or Longer". DJ Booth. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ "13 Pop, Rock and Jazz Concerts to Check Out in N.Y.C. This Weekend". The New York Times. July 25, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ a b Zachary Schwartz (April 12, 2019). "We Found Jay Electronica's 'Act II'—It's Been Hiding in Plain Sight". DJBooth. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Ryan Bassil (October 23, 2013). "The Prestige, The Five Percenters, and Why Jay Electronica Hasn't Released His Debut Album". Vice UK. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ a b c Andres Reyes (September 27, 2007). "Jay Electronica Interview". Weapons of Mass Distraction. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ Matt Diehl (September 17, 2010). "Jay Electronica". Interview. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ Adam Isaac Itkoff (July 2, 2017). "Eternal Sunshine: The 10-Year Anniversary of Jay Electronica's 'Act 1'". Okayplayer. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ Evan Minsker (July 28, 2012). "Jay Electronica Shares Album Tracklist". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ Evan Minsker (February 7, 2020). "Jay Electronica Says His New Album Is Out in 40 Days". Archived from the original on February 7, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
